Google New Grad R2 Rejection: 3x3 Grid Groups and Nested Recipe Inventory

Role: Software Engineer, New Grad
Result: Rejected after R2
Report time: January 2026

Coding round 1: select a 3×3 grid group

A two-dimensional grid contains numbers. Every 3×3 region is represented by the minimum value inside that region. Find the minimum group.

The follow-up invalidated any group containing the value 1 and asked how the solution should change, along with time and space complexity.

The source does not define whether the output should be the representative value, coordinates, or the full 3×3 group; it also omits tie-breaking and the all-invalid result. No exact practice link is asserted.

Coding round 2: nested recipe inventory

Recipes may depend on raw ingredients or other recipes, each with required quantities. For example, a cake can require sugar, oil, flour, and eggs, while sugar itself may depend on raw sugarcane. Given current raw-material inventory, determine whether the requested food can be produced.

The candidate designed the data types and completed the implementation near the end of the round. A follow-up clarified that quantities make the task more complex than a simple recipe-dependency reachability problem.

Practice: Can Inventory Satisfy a Nested Recipe?

The candidate received the rejection after asking for an update following the holiday period. The source does not identify which round caused the final decision.